Worlds Apart
by Latinpro
Summary: The saga of Jan Ors and Kyle Katarn, starting three years after Jedi Knight and leading right up to Mysteries of the Sith. Tissue alert first two chapters!
1. Beginning of the End

Worlds Apart

Worlds Apart

You know the drill. I don't own Jan, Kyle, DF, or any other SW reference you see. I do however own the anonymous mercenary.;)My luck. Yippee. I have author's notes at the bottom, as usual. And as usual, I cannot make money off this. ::sob!::

Alone again.

For the third time in my life, someone important, someone I loved, is gone.

She didn't really _leave_ me; it's more like she was taken from me. I loved her. I never said it, but I did. Jan Ors, the partner/agent operative of me, Kyle Katarn, has been gone less than a week, and it's killing me. Curse my stubbornness! It got her killed. Her voice is haunting me even as I speak. 'Kyle,' she told me, 'please don't go to Nar Shaddaa again. It'll be the death of us this time around.' I had smiled an arrogant smile and flipped the thrusters to the _Crow_. 'Ah, Jan. How sweet of you to worry about me. I'll be fine, and so will you. I'll go in, collect those drivers for the New Republic, and we'll come back, and then I'll ask you a question, and then…'

'What are you saying, you moron?'

'Never mind. You'll see.' She rolled her eyes and hailed the _New Hope_. We went to Nar Shaddaa then and it was a standard search-and-recover. I found the disk that would possibly save our agents a lot of time on recovery acts like these. When I returned to the _Crow_, a human mercenary I didn't know was waiting for me. He looked slightly worse for the ware. Jan's handiwork on people who come too close the _Crow_ without her permission. But where was Jan and why was this guy waiting for me by my ship?

The answer was obvious. He has a blaster trained on Jan, who was pinned in a chokehold by his left arm. 'Drop the blaster, Rebel.'

I did. 'Let her go.'

'Give me the disk, Katarn, or your girl dies.' 

'What do you want with the disk?'

'Business for the Empire. Hand it over or she's dead.' I pulled the disk out of my pocket. Holding up my hands, I stepped closer. 'Just let Jan go as soon as I give it to you. Don't try any heroics, Jan.' Jan took one shuddery breath and affirmed the order. I handed over the recovery disk and he shoved Jan toward me. 'Don't say anything,' I whispered in her ear, 'but we'll get him with the _Crow_'s blasters when we're aboard.' She nodded and grabbed me around my neck with an arm to steady herself. 'I'm sorry,' she whispered. I shook my head. 'Don't be. I can get that disk back someday. I can never get you back.' When I look back, it seems so prophetic that I said that when I did. For just as we turned, that mercenary shouted. 'Hey! This isn't the disk, Katarn. This is a music file!' I pushed Jan toward the ship. 'Hurry and shoot him down.' She ran and he noticed. 'Oh no you don't, lady!' To cover for her, I charged toward him, using the Force to avoid the blaster bolts. I slid into him and gave Jan time to get in the ship and cover me. I heard her over the com a few seconds later. 'Kyle! Stop horsing around, grab your blaster and get onboard!' I did all of the above. After the mercenary was no longer a problem, we went into hyperspace. Barely five minutes after the fight, she shook her head and groaned. 'My head sure does hurt.'

'Are you wounded?'

'I don't think so. I heard a few bolts go over my ear and felt some pops, but that was just the air ionizing. It's happened before.'

'If you think you're alright…'

'I am. It's just a headache from the rapid ionization. I'm going to go take something.' I nodded and took her place piloting. A few minutes later, I heard a sharp 'Ow!' from her stateroom. Setting the ship on autopilot, I ran in to see what was wrong. She was holding her eyes in her hands and cringing. 'What's wrong, Jan?'

'That light hurts my eyes!' This set off warning bells in my head. I dimmed them for her and looked over her head. When I got to the area over her left ear, I found a clump of her hair sticking together. 'Huh. That's weird,' I had commented.

'What?'

'Did you put a lot of hair gel in this morning?'

'No. Why?'

'Your hair is sticking together. Big patch of it too. Let's just see what this is.' I pulled a strand of it away and wet it down. 'It's blood, Jan. You've been shot.' She turned to me and did something I'd never seen her do before. She began to cry. 'I don't want to die, Kyle.' I picked her up and carried her to a bed. When I was hooking up her support system, she stopped crying and looked at me strangely. 'When I get off the hospital ship, let's get married.' I blinked. She came on so strongly. I had to look down. 'I was going to ask you. I don't have a proper ring.' I pulled my father's ring off my finger and put it on hers. "Dad's ring will have to do until I can buy you a wedding band.' I smiled at her and put my hand next to her head. 'Have I fixed you up until we can get to the Fleet?'

'You've done everything right so far.'

'Good. Call if you need me. Don't fall asleep, Jan. I'm serious.' When we returned to the Fleet, I made sure she got to a medical ship. They told me the prognosis wasn't good. She fell unconscious a few days later. They made some excuse why she couldn't be put in bacta, no available tanks or something of the sort. So they slapped a bacta patch to her head. An entire army- excuse the accidental pun, but I'm in no mood for jokes- of her acquaintances showed up to check on her. Mon Mothma, Leia, some guy named Wires, even her friend Chief Wong from Electronic Countermeasures. He seemed rather curious about me and my relation to Jan. 'Who're you again?'

'I'm Kyle Katarn, Jan's agent and fiancé.' That part was unfamiliar and seemed to agitate the officer. 'Since when?'

'Since we were ambushed.' A medic interrupted me, shouting in the observation room 'She's going into shock! We're losing her!' I could only stare morbidly as they tried to save her. A few minutes later, she was still alive. I breathed a sigh of relief. 'That was close. I'm not going to lose her.'The chief director of that particular ward advised me to get some sleep and told Chiefy they'd be in touch if anything happened. I was offered a cot and slept for 18 hours. When I woke up later, she seemed to be improving. I went to my kept room on board the _New Hope_ and grabbed a ring I'd bought several years ago, a rather simple affair made of gold. I walked quickly back to Jan.I slipped my father's ring off her finger and slid the band on. 'I told you I'd buy you a wedding band.' Jan was sleeping rather soundly so I decided to return to my room.I tried to busy myself with not thinking about Jan. Every time I did something on the _Crow_, I thought about Jan and how she'd kill me if I dented the hull even though the hull was carbon scored. Every time I tried to eat something, I was reminded that I hadn't eaten lunch alone for at least four years. Every time I went to my room, I saw the picture of her I'd framed. It was getting so bad so I simply slept. About six days after the fight, I got The Call. I had been asleep, my new pastime. I was half asleep but I was brought to consciousness soon enough. 'Commander Katarn?'

'This is he. Who is this?'

'This is Doctor Ward of the _Mercy_. Are you the closest relation to a Lieutenant Janali Ors?'

'Yes. Why? Has she woken up?'

'No sir. She's gone, Commander.' The room spun around me and I mumbled something like a 'Thank you, good-bye.' I lurched into the refresher and threw up what I'd managed to force down. I didn't go over, but people migrated to my room with things for me. I promised myselfthat Jan's death wouldn't go unavenged. I can't ever forgive the Empire for what they've taken from me. I swear it. I never told her I loved her. I can't forgive _myself_ for that one.

Author's Notes-

I won't leave you hanging. There is a sequel called "Ends Justifying the Means." Before you start weeping and clutching you Dark Forces and Jedi Knight CD-ROMS, audiotapes, books, and collectable Kyle-and-Jan action figures, you should know that I wrote this as a fan-fic. I personally think that Jan and Kyle are simply the best ROM game characters in Star Wars. I wrote this when I was inspired by a playable add-on level to DF where Kyle has been assassinated and Jan tracks his killers down. So I reversed the scenario. Also, there is a line from JK in which Kyle and Jan go through a bit of friendly banter. This line is as follows.

Jan: What would you do without me, Kyle?

Kyle: I'd be a content old man.

Jan: Somehow I don't see content or an old man. 

Too true.

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All rights reserved by respective owners. No money is, has been, or will be made off this piece of fan fiction. Star Wars is copyright LucasFilm.


	2. Ends Justifying the Means

Ends Justifying The Means

_Disclaimer: I don't own the song "Send Her My Love," Journey does. Kyle and Jan belong to LucasArts, everyone else probably belongs to me. Author's notes at the bottom. And yes, this is a third-person omnipresent style instead of Kyle's viewpoint. This story makes more sense that way. You'll see. Also, thank you **soooo** much to LadyCallie and Rina. You know who you are._

It's been so long

Since I've seen her face

You say she's doing fine

I still recall

A sad café

How it hurt so bad to see her cry

I didn't want to say goodbye…

Send her my loveMemories remain

Send her my loveRoses never fade

Send her my love

The same hotel, the same old room

I'm on the road again

She needed so much more

Than I could give

We knew our love could not pretend

Broken hearts can always mend…

Send her my loveMemories remain

Send her my loveRoses never fade

Send her my love

Callin' out her name I'm dreamin'

Reflections of a face I'm seein'

It's her voice

That keeps on haunting me

Send her, send her my love

Roses never fade

Memories remain

Send her, send her my love…

Kyle Katarn absently twirled his blaster on his shooting finger and wondered why all the misery in the galaxy seemed to accumulate onto him. He'd lost a mother, a father, a partner, a promising career in the Empire, friends on both sides of the war, and several mentors. But Jan and his father he missed the most, if missing someone more than anyone else was possible. He couldn't tell if Jan was still alive or not; logic told him the latter, his emotions the former. Sitting in the pilot's seat in the _Crow_, he felt traitorous. _This is Jan's seat_, something told him, _and what are you doing in it?_ He propped his feet up on the console, just as Jan had done all the time, and holstered his sidearm. The reasons for him to have to leave the Fleet for some little backwater base were as clandestine as his former missions. Some bureaucrat probably decided that a depressed Jedi Knight was too unstable to have around and was a liability. _But Jan and I served them well. Did they even give her a proper funeral? I didn't even get to attend, they cleared me out so quickly_. _They gave me the death pay and a condolence note and told me to be on my way. _Shaking his head, he pulled his feet off the consol and went to make another pot of caf. _My plan to save her couldn't and didn't work._ _This is going to be a long and painful jump._

_ _

On the Alliance hospital ship _Liberation_, two of the main guards were watching a cheesy old holovid that one had received from home and having a midnight snack. The vid was about a mutated, flesh-eating zombie and a stunning female warrior who was bound by fate to stop it. As a medical officer checked out and his relief checked in, one curious sentry asked why they had round-the-chrono duty in Room 285, all the while keeping his eye on the female lead in the vid. "Oh," the officer checking out said impassively, "we've got honor guard duty for a dead agent. Orders straight from Mon Mothma herself. This really important agent was killed after a firefight and brought here. Seems she and a partner were the ones who stole the Death Star plans from Danuta." The curious guard whistled appreciatively and lifted his drink. "Here's to her. What was her name?"

"Uh, Senior Staff Agent Jan Ors, or something like that. She sure doesn't look old enough to have stolen those plans." He shrugged. "Too bad, she was kinda cute too."

The medic watching Jan wasn't too alert when he took duty, it being 0130 hours Galactic Standard Time. About 0200 GST, when he had just begun to doze off, the supposedly dead woman stirred and sat up. When the guards heard the screams and ran in, they found a collapsed medic sentry and a very confused woman. Not knowing what else to do, the guards backed against the wall and called the commanding officer up at the hour. "Uh, sir? We've got a problem at 285. That dead agent, she's _alive _sir."

The CO came quickly.

Two days later, Jan was just allowed on her feet when a medical officer came to check her out and debrief her. "Now, Agent, what do you remember?"

"I was shot, and my partner Kyle brought me here."

"Uh, huh. Did you have a sum of money for your partner, should you die?"

"Of course. That's almost standard operating procedure in our division."

"Which is that?"

"Clandestine and Counter-Intelligence Ops." The medic wrote all this down on a slip of paper. "Did you ever think that your partner would kill you? For the money or not." Jan raised her eyebrows and shook her head slowly. "What is this, a survey? No. Not for a moment." She stopped and decided not to mention the Valley of the Jedi, when Kyle had an ignited lightsaber hanging immediately over her head. That would be unfair, since he was being taunted. "Kyle would never hurt me intentionally. He saved me many times from a death." The man snorted. "Yeah, except this time." He looked up at her face and apologized. "So, you've know the Captain for a long time?"

"He's a captain? This happen recently?"

"Yes, Agent. He was recently reassigned."

"And demoted, it seems. Kyle was a commander. Does this have anything to do with me?" He man stopped writing and threaded his pen through his writing pad. "I'm going to call in my CO for the rest of this debriefing."

"And this has something to do with me too? Am I being too hostile?" The medical officer didn't answer her. A few minutes later, an impatient looking commander walked in. "Agent Ors, I'm going to treat you like the heroine you are until you pull another stunt like you did with Yihhdl. Have you known Kyle Katarn for a sum of years?"

"Yes, sir." Jan tried not to let the disrespect seep through her voice. "Were you ever uncomfortable in his presence?"

_Would I have wanted to marry him if I was?_ "No, sir."

"Good then. He's been formally reassigned to a base and was given the pay of1500 credits that you set aside for your partner should you die in battle. We were concerned since this is a large sum of money, and Katarn is not what we would call one of our more… _trustworthy_ agents like yourself. But if you have faith in him, then that is a different story."

"What was the situation sir? Were you thinking that Kyle killed me to get to the death pay?"

"It has happened in the past."

"Didn't you monitor his reactions?"

"He could have been acting." Jan shook her head. "No sir. He's been through much grief in his life; if an ordinary person like you or I tried to handle it, we'd collapse. He's a man of principles, and he has never shown me any reason to doubt his honor." The commander's lemon-face softened a bit. "Then we'll revoke the death charges."

"You've already drawn murder charges against him?!" The commander looked Jan over as though she was a beginner. "Agent Ors, you'll find that in life, the ends often justify the means. One can never be too careful when dealing with mercenaries." _Yeah, with mercenaries like me and Kyle, you mean._ "By the way Agent. You were somehow alive during the entire time. Vitals were extremely low, some kind of a healing coma you did subconsciously. No one knows how you did it. It's an unofficial miracle in the eyes of the medics." He left Jan to find her own way out. _They wouldn't have done the same if the situation was reversed. They'd have gladly handed me that payoff and told me their deepest sorrows_. Stumbling a bit, she exited the ward with an odd feeling that, instead of luck to be alive, was a wish she'd just stayed good and gone. 

Kyle was unpacking in this new form of NR torture called Altyr V and pulled out the wad of bills from his pack. He didn't even want to look at the money. True, Jan would have wanted him to have it, but it felt wrong, like stealing from her. Noticing the note, he picked it up and decided to rest before his watch came on. The note, which he had taken to be a generic condolence note, was something else. It was somehow different than anything the NR could have given him. He unfolded the parchment and stopped breathing for what seemed an eternity. It was a note from Jan, dated about the time before the Valley missions. He took in the handwriting, the word choice, the overall writing style. It was definitely Jan's. 

To Kyle,

If you are reading this, I am most likely fallen in battle. I don't and never would want you to mourn me. Know this however: I have always loved you and the man that you are and will be. You have stood by me for years and been my best friend and confidant. I only wish that I could be there with you as you read this and tell you that I am well. Take comfort in the small fact that someday we will be reunited. When you first met me, you came at a time when my life was, I was sure, going to end. I had lost my family and all my possessions to hired assassins, almost as we are now. When you and I met face to face, I felt a spark. By the look in your eyes, you felt it too. We "connected," so to speak. Since that moment, I have loved you. When we were in greatest peril (so far), I worried for you and you simply took it with a smile. That is one quality of yours that I wasn't sure if I wanted to strangle you or kiss you. If you can't tell already by my unusual gushing and girlish style, I am feeling emotions that I have never felt and that it is a sad duty of mine to write my own condolence note. As my father would have said, "bite the bolt and do your duty." I'm sorry I could have never told this to you in person, but I know that you have known. I know that the money must be cold comfort, but please accept it as a love offering. Until we meet again, I am

Your Jan.**__**

Somehow the words reassured him. He folded the note back up and placed it in his wallet. _I'm not going to forget you, Jan. I swear._

Jan was given the odd job of a crew chief for a fighter squadron. She had asked to be transferred to this "Altyr V," wherever it was. The CO denied the request, saying that she would serve no useful purpose. Jan argued that she could be Kyle's partner, but that request was shot down because Kyle was on a new mission that didn't call for an officer accompaniment. "We need to see how Captain Katarn does without your babysitting him, Ors." She had never felt angrier in her life, either at the barb or the man's lack of respect for the two agents who had quite possibly saved the galaxy from the Death Star destroying more planets. Not to mention the Dark Troopers. And the Seven Dark Jedi. And saving Crix Madine. And getting rid of Rom Mohc. She sighed heavily. However, after many battles with a tribunal, she resigned herself to the duty of head starshipwright for Defiance Squadron. Defiance was headed by both an older staffer and a young XO, Will Ralter. Ralter seemed slow on the uptake to Jan, who was used to Kyle's astute mind, but he was her CO no matter how badly she wanted to lob her spanner at him. Jan still wished she had Kyle with her, missed him terribly, but had an odd sense of rightness about being with Defiance. She didn't agree with her feelings a bit. _I'll find you someday, Kyle. Even if it takes my entire life._

Finis.

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Hey, everyone!

Yeah, that was kinda sad. Not quite as angst-y as WA (I could probably replicate something like that again, but man, what was I doin'??). I added a couple of pieces of comic relief to break the emotions. (I have to brag about my writing :P) This is supposed to tell what happened between Jedi Knight and Mysteries of the Sith. The next sequel will be up sooner or later. I'm working on it now. It really depends on how many hits this one gets as to whether or not there will be a fourth. Should be up anywhere from 3rd week of March to the 4th week or even around the beginning of April. OK, I'm slow. Next story: obstacles revealed here will be solved or, at the least, challenged. It's comin'!! 


	3. Meaning of Fate

Meaning of Fate

Disclaimer: I still don't own Jan, Kyle, Dack Ralter or Mara Jade. Will Ralter, Jon Oriley, Tweak and their bordering-on-cliché- commander are my creations, however. I still can't make money from this. D'oh! And just to clarify the last chapter, Jan comments that Kyle has been demoted from commander to captain. Now, in the US Armed Forces, that would be backwards (captain is actually higher than commander), but a friend assured me that commander was higher than captain in the NR Armed Forces. (Think Luke and Han; Han cleared the way, but Luke actually blew up the Death Star. Luke=commander, Han=captain.) And yes, I did make up the rank of Senior Staff Agent. It's kind of like a chief petty officer for those of you familiar with the Navy rankings. I hope that clarified some people. If not, it probably confused a bunch of others. J Anyway, enjoy the story.

_ _

As she was walking out the door, Jan caught sight of her calendar and saw that it was the two-month anniversary of her wounding, engagement, and eventual death. She had to pause and smile at the mention of her "death." What killed the smile before it could reach her lips was the fact that Kyle was not with her and the other fact that he thought she was dead. _I'm going to have to get a communiqué to him._ With a sigh, she tugged her Defiance crew chief cap on and picked up her tool bag. Today she was going to have to find out what was severely denting Lieutenant Ralter's X-wing. Everyday he came to her with some minuscule complaint: the guns were going to jam, his fuselage sustained some dents that needed to be hammered out, his S-foils felt as though they were coming loose. _If he or his ship is half as accident prone as he appears to be, I fear for the future. _As she reached the Defiance ship maintenance area, she noted without surprise that Will Ralter's ship was there. Ralter was a higher rank than she, and he seemed nice enough, but she got an odd feeling from him, as though he was perpetually putting on a show and that something was wrong with him. Maybe it was her, maybe it was him. Jan certainly didn't know. As she set out in hammering dents out, she felt a soft pressure on her upper back. She moved the hammer down and almost instantaneously dropped it and grabbed her blaster out of her holster. The man who had been resting his hand on her shoulder put them up and grinned stupidly. "Lieutenant Ralter," Jan said almost icily. "I've asked you to please not interrupt me while I'm working…_sir_." The blond pilot kept grinning, but put his hands down while Jan holstered her sidearm. "Cool down, Chief. I just wanted to see if I could help. I know my way around a toolbag." Jan rolled her eyes. _I bet_. "If you want to help, then you can either stay away from me or just go do maintenance in the cockpit. I want to know what in the name of the galaxy is causing these dents and know how do I stop it." Ralter smiled innocently, not noticing the barb. "I'll make sure Tweak does a checkup on it." Jan looked up at him skeptically.

"'Tweak?'"

"Oh, you haven't met my R5 yet? I call him Tweaker, Tweak for short."

"Charming, Lieutenant, but I've got work to do." Will put his hands up again and backed away. "Okay, okay. Do you want to have dinner sometime?"

"Keep asking, Lieutenant. Tatooine may get snow just yet." The grin fell from Will Ralter's face momentarily, but returned just as enthusiastic a moment later. "It could happen, Chief. You just wait! I'll find a way to dupe you into that lunch with me!" _Yeah, I bet you will someday, Ralter. _Looking after him, Jan didn't want to admit it, but she had a grudging respect for Will Ralter growing inside her.

Later that night, Jan stayed up near the newly-hammered ship to find out what was denting it so badly. She had packed her blaster, a hammer, and a snack. The darkened maintenance hangar was almost eerie this late. Finally, around 0115 GST, she heard a grunt and a soft _tap, tap, tap_. It crescendoed into a _bang, bang, bang_ and finally a loud _wham, wham, wham_. Jan stood, pulled her blaster out, and hit the lights. "Ow! Turn the lights down!" She stared at what she saw. Will Ralter himself was straddled across the nose of his own fighter, banging on it with a hammer. He gave it a few more feeble taps guiltily and jumped down. "I can explain, Chief."

"I certainly hope you can, Lieutenant. Otherwise, this will be a very interesting report."

"You see, I wanted to meet you, but I didn't know how. Then I saw how good you were as a mechanic and I thought that if I was around you enough then I could think of something intelligent to say."

"_You_ wanted to meet _me_?"

"Well, yeah. I guess it was kinda stupid."

"A little, unless you have a death wish. I could write you up for sabotage and treason."

"Awh, come one, Chief. I had the best intentions."

"The road to…"

"I know, I know. D'you want to go to dinner with me?" Jan had to laugh and tell him maybe. 

Will Ralter was Corellian and Alderaanian by blood, but had been born on the Imperial prisoner camp of Kalist VI. A few years before him had been his older, more famous brother Dack. He'd always taken to Dack and had made sure that, when in the chain line, had been next to him. Dack's voice came back to him, unbidden but not unwanted, a seditious whisper. "'You just wait, Willy. I'll get free someday and then I'll come back for you and Mom and Dad. You just wait. Then we can go to the Alliance and blow up all the Imps we want. Then we'll be heroes, liberators of the oppressed.'" After he found his freedom, Dack also found that he couldn't go back to Kalist VI, because almost as soon as he joined the Alliance, he died in the defense of Hoth. Will escaped one night, but not before being put through a series of horrifying ordeals. The guards were brutal, the Commandant was always picking Will for the most strenuous labor, the doctors from Coruscant were… "No. I won't think of that one." But he did. He shuddered at the memories, the callous doctors and their needles and spore samples and bacterial cultures. Biological warfare. He was the first test subject. Nothing more than a lab specimen.

And the only survivor of their experiments. 

His parents and younger brother Jacey had been ones too. 

But he was still the lone survivor.

The next day, Jan Ors wiped her hands on the oily rag and surveyed Will's ship. _It really is a nice ship. And I guess he really is a nice guy. He's gone out of his way to make me feel as comfortable as possible. Even if he was the mystery denter. Maybe I'll take him up on that offer. Some dinner really sounds good now._ She made a note to go to her quarters to shower and change into something other than a greasy pair of coveralls and to at least fix her hair. She stopped and decided to talk with Will first. She keyed in Will's com frequency. No answer. She waited and did it again. Still no answer. _Okay then, I can be blunt too, Lieutenant Ralter_. Jan headed to his quarters and knocked on the door. He answered a few minutes later, red-eyed and pale. His eyes upset her. They were normally a bright sapphire but were now solidly bloodshot. She stared at him, concerned. "Did I come at a bad time, Lieutenant?" He put his hand up to his face and attempted to look slightly recovered. "Oh, no. Sorry. Come on in, Chief. What do you need?" 

"Oh, I was just wondering if I can still take you up on that offer."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah. How about dinner at 1930 GST?" He stared at her curiously.

"What?"

"It's military time. You know, 7:30 p.m."

"Oh, sorry. I'm not thinking right today." Jan smiled at him and looked around, changing the subject. "You have a really nice apartment." 

"Oh, thanks. I try. Most of it is stuff I managed to salvage from raiding parties. I'm pretty good with mechanics, so I build some of it." He and Jan stood looking at their feet for a moment and then both looked up. Jan was a bright red. "Well, I guess I'd better go." Her words came out rushed. "Yeah, sure. I've got to get cleaned up." Will's were equally rushed. Jan was sure that she didn't turn back to her normal complexion until she reached her own room. As she was getting her shower ready, she noticed something on her finger. Kyle's ring. Its luster glared at her, reproaching her for even thinking about Will Ralter when she was still engaged to Kyle. "Oh, no…" Suddenly she dropped it as though it was heavy. It rolled on the floor and still glared at her. She picked up her com and automatically attuned to Kyle's personal frequency. "Kyle, this is Jan. Are you there?"

There was no answer but static.

She sank down and called Will for reasons she didn't know.

Will had just stepped out and put on his officers suit when he received Jan's call. It sounded to him like she had been scared out of her wits. "Do you want me to come over there, Chief?"

"Yes. Quickly."

Kyle found his quarters on the NR held base/planet of Altyr V to be most unaccommodating. They were far away from almost everything, from his post to the mess hall to the training room. Worst of all, during a practice air attack, his picture of Jan had fallen off the wall and had shattered. There was a large crack that ran parallel to Jan's face. Maybe the fact that the memory of her was hallowed to him was what moved him to put it on his table instead of the wall. His mother and father's wedding day kept Jan company, along with Jan and he together outside the _Crow_, and his parents and him on his first birthday. He didn't have enough credits to buy a fancy hologram projector, so he was going to have to be contented with standard holos. Sighing, he got out of bed and did his stretches and warm-ups. At least it was his day off. He had planned on practicing with his lightsaber, but didn't have a clue on what to use as a sparring partner. Usually, he had been able to coax Jan into firing a couple of stun shots at him and then deflecting them into the wall. Thanks to him, Jan had acquired nerves of steel. _Jan… I'm sorry, dear. But I'm obviously not a Jedi Healer. I thought I put you into a Healing Trance, but I guess it didn't work. _He picked up his lightsaber and began to walk out the door. _Or maybe it worked too well…?_ Kyle looked away. Another thing to blame myself for. _Maybe I can get some relief from sparring and then worry about my personallife. _As he entered the training room, he found a sight that surprised him to an extreme. 

A beautiful red-headed woman was fighting an assassin droid in the training room. 

She was winning.

She had a lightsaber.

She was somehow familiar, like seen-in-a-briefing familiar. Kyle watched her for a moment.

_Wow. She's good. No, wait. She's not good; she's excellent._

She pivoted and sliced the droid in half, both sides electronic wiring shorting and sizzling. She shut off her saber and noticed Kyle. "Kyle Katarn?"

"Uh, yeah. That's me."

"Good. I came here to train with you. My name's Mara Jade."

Will examined the ring. "It's a nice ring. It's a wedding band, though." Jan held her head in her hands. "Yes, I know. That's what I wanted to tell you. I'm engaged to a Jedi Knight named Kyle Katarn." Will raised an eyebrow at her. "A Jedi Knight, huh? You certainly have high criteria. What's a nice girl like you doin' with a Jedi like him?" Jan looked over at him. "That's all you can think of?"

"Sorry. I meant that to cheer you up, Chief."

"Well, it didn't. And stop calling me 'Chief.' It's Jan."

"Jan's a nice name. Is it short for anything?"

"Janali. Jan-ah-lee."

"That's pretty. It suits you. My name's short for 'Willis.'" Jan commenced holding her head in her hands again. "But you don't understand! That ring was given to me by Kyle with the intent to marry me."

"Did you or he get scared and call it off or something?"

"No! I was shot in battle and I went into a coma and everyone thought I died and that Kyle had killed me so they demoted him and sent him to a base on the edge of Nowhere and then they sent me here…."

"Whoa! Slow down there, Jan. I couldn't understand you. Okay, so Kyle's somewhere far away from here and you want to be there but you can't get transferred. Maybe I can help." 

"How?"

"Good question."

Two days later, Will stepped into his commander's officer. "Uh, sir? I have a question for you."

"Go ahead, Ralter. I'm listening."

"Well, it's about that new mechanic we've got, Jan Ors."

"What about her?"

"Her, uh, fiancé was transferred to a base on Altyr V."

"So?"

"I was wondering if you could transfer her there as well." The commander sat up and drummed his fingers on his desk. "Ralter, I don't have time for my XO to be playing matchmaker with a mechanic."

"_Chief mechanic_, sir."

"Fine then. A _chief_ mechanic. What's wrong with you, Will? Do you have a soft spot for her or what?"

"Well, she's been through an awful lot lately in her life. I thought that maybe I could do a favor for her and…"

"Get a life, Ralter. Stop being so blasted idealistic for once." Will scowled and looked rather piqued. The commander smiled. "That's better. Get back to work. I want those supply lists by the end of today."

Jan's shoulders slumped. "Well, thanks Will. You tried."

"But I could have done better!"

"It's not your fault. I'll…just have to get over it and wait until I can retire from the military." Will gave her a last glance and headed off. _I think I have a crush on her. Why else would I be trying to play set-up for her when I want to set_ myself _up with her_? He was brooding on that fact when a friend of his, Jon Oriley, walked past. "Hiya, Will."

"Hey, Jon. What's up?"

"You know that Jedi you had me look up?"

"Not so loud!" Jon made a face but quieted his voice. "Anyway, I found something about him. He's training another Jedi as a partner, a red-headed woman. People are saying that he kinda likes her or something." Will's eyes turned hard and reminded Jon of ice: dangerous, deep, and penetrating. "Thanks, Jon. I owe you one."

"Hey, don't mention it. We're even from that time you vaped the commander for me when he was on my tail in the sim." Will smiled at Jon and set out toward his quarters, killing the smile as soon as he turned away from his friend. _How dare that Jedi? It's only been two months and he's replaced Jan like common garbage! If he were here, I'd…well, I probably wouldn't do that. Jan wouldn't like it. I am an officer and a gentleman, unlike a certain spoon-bender I won't name_. 

A few weeks later, Jan got ready again for dinner with Will. This time however, she planned to keep the date and actually attend and not break down. She had worn Kyle's ring on her right ring finger ever since the NR's official newsgroups announced that the famous ex-Emperor's Hand Mara Jade was training with the almost-equally-famous hero of the Valley of the Jedi Kyle Katarn. Jan noted without emotion that she was not mentioned along with Kyle's exploits. In an interview, Kyle sounded quite elated about being with Mara Jade and being able to hear what she learned from Luke Skywalker. _Fine, Kyle. If you can move on, then so can I. Do you even remember me?_

Halfway across the galaxy, Kyle Katarn looked up at the stars. _I miss you Jan. Do you remember me, if you can? _Mara came up and studied the stars with him. "It's quiet out here. I see why it's your sanctuary. You must really miss her, huh?" Kyle went back inside, not wanting to share his private haven with anyone but his memories of Jan and his father and mother. "Let's spar a little before my watch. I found a new technique." Mara raised her eyebrows. "Whatever you say, Kyle. I can still match you."

At the same time, Will Ralter proposed to a woman he had known for about three months. She accepted.

Finis.

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Hey, everybody!

Oooooh, Kyle got kinda dissed, huh? Ouch. What a pair-and-a-half of star-crossed lovers! (Minus Mara of course, we know what happens to her.) Things kinda took a monkey wrench turn in this latest chapter. Wait till you see the next one! Let's see, I've gone from serious tissue-warning to moderate tissue-warning to conflict and stuggle.Hmmm, _struggle._ I can't believe how quickly this edition came out. Pretty fast for me. Amazing what Spring Break can do! The sequels are coming!


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